RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to downplay the size of protests that saw thousands arrested at the weekend won’t wash, the country’s communist youth league said today.

The Komsomol said the rallies were “undoubtedly the largest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the de-facto banning of all opposition events.”

Mr Putin’s spokesman claimed on Sunday that only “a few” people had turned out to the protests, which were called by anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny following his arrest on his return to Russia from hospital treatment in Berlin for apparent Novichok poisoning. Russia has dismissed complaints from the EU and United States over the arrests.